1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dried aluminum hydroxide gel and a method for preparing it. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an antacid with the dried aluminum hydroxide gel as an active ingredient, which features excellent acid reactivity and acid neutralizing capacity, remains highly stable with respect to both of these properties as it ages, yet features good workability and storability.
2. Prior Art
Dried aluminum hydroxide gel comes in amorphous powder form and has been widely used as an antacid which is an agent that counteracts or neutralizes acidity. However, commercially available dried aluminum hydroxide gels are slow in reacting with gastric acid and are inferior in terms of their immediate effect. In addition, since such dried gels crystallize rapidly and age poorly during the reaction through the drying processes of their manufacture, as well as after their manufacture, they tend to have problems with decreasing acid neutralizing capacity.
In order to solve this problem, a method has been developed in which an aluminum gel is used as an antacid in a slurry state without undergoing drying process. There is another method that has been used in an attempt to improve the conventional method of binding carbonate ions in the gel. This method, in which the alkali ion of the aluminum hydroxide gel is replaced with a divalent ion, such as Ca, to specifically bind the divalent carbonate ion thereto, thereby suppressing hydrolysis, is described in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Tokukouhei) No. 1-24731.